School Year 2013-14

Presenters:

Nyal Fuentes: ESE Office of College and Career Readiness

Yolanda Johnson: Director of Student Support ServicesSpringfield Public Schools

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College and Career Readiness: DefinitionBeing college and career ready means that an individual has the knowledge and skills necessary for success in postsecondary education and economically

viable career pathways in a 21st century economy

So what is MassCore?

MassCore is currently the state RECOMMENDED program of study. It contains a rigorous list of courses and additional learning opportunities to provide a college and career ready academic career for high school students.

MassCore English/Language Arts

4 Units

Mathematics 4 Units Including the completion of Algebra II or completion of the Integrated Math equivalent. All students are recommended to take a math course during their senior year.

Science 3 Units of lab-based science Coursework taken in technology/ engineering may count for MassCore science credit.

History/Social Science

3 Units Including US History and World History.

Foreign Language

2 Units Of the same language.

Physical Education

As required by law State law (M.G.L. c. 71,s. 3) states: “Physical education shall be taught as a required subject in all grades for all students.”

Arts 1 Unit Additional Core Courses

5 Units Other additional coursework (including CTE) andany of the courses above

What are Additional Learning Opportunities?

• Advanced Placement (AP) provides the opportunity to take advanced courses while still in high school. There are 38 different AP courses https://apstudent.collegeboard.org/apcourse with high schools offering a variety of this rigorous coursework.

• Capstone or Senior Project is designed to help students develop, design or create a product, service, system or event to better prepare them for further studies or employment after high school. The project should be a demonstration of a student's achievement of skills such as critical thinking, reading comprehension, and effective communication. Students are expected to demonstrate self-directed learning in the completion of this task.

• Dual Enrollment is a program of study allowing high school students to simultaneously earn credits toward a high school diploma and a postsecondary degree or certificate.

• Taking an Online course for high school or college credit will likely prepare students for another modality of academic instruction that will become more prevalent in students’ postsecondary education and career.

• Service Learning is a method whereby students learn and develop through active participation in thoughtfully organized service that is conducted in, meets the needs of communities and is integrated into and enhances the academic curriculum of the students.

• Work-based Learning experiences are activities at the high school level that involve actual work experience or connect classroom learning to work. At the highest level, there is full integration of academic and vocational/occupational curriculum with work site experience

The inclusion of additional learning opportunities in MassCore is intended to provide students with exposure to advanced educational experiences beyond the core course of study

• A unit represents a full academic year of study or its equivalent in a subject that covers all the standards contained in a specific Curriculum Framework.

• Students enrolled in a state-approved Career and Technical Education program of studies have the option of opting out of Foreign Language and Art and still fulfill MassCore.

• MassCore is the recommended program of study of at least 22 units that Massachusetts high school students need in order to be better prepared for college and a career. Developed by a statewide advisory group from the K-12, higher education and business sectors, MassCore maintains flexibility for students and high schools while allowing districts to set additional graduation requirements. Courses included in MassCore should be rigorous, engaging, and based on appropriate Massachusetts Curriculum Frameworks high school level standards.

Some Details on MassCore

FLEXIBILITY

The intent of this core is to provide some flexibility to allow students to take the coursework necessary to meet their social and academic goals.

What is MassCore: An Academic Foundation

with Standards and Assessments

The Massachusetts Curriculum Frameworks and the Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System (MCAS) are common elements across all schools and districts and include the newly adopted Common Core state standards.

Common Core puts a greater emphasis on earlier mathematics preparation, technical reading and writing across content areas and college and career readiness. Implementation of the new Curriculum Frameworks provide an ideal opportunity to examine high school coursework.

Why is a rigorous high school course of study important?

Students who complete rigorous coursework in high school have more—and better—options after high school graduation. They are better equipped to advance to higher education, succeed in workplace and military training programs, and/or resume their education in preparation for a career change at a later date. A solid academic foundation in high school benefits every student, regardless of ethnicity and socioeconomic status. Students from lower-income families tend to derive the greatest benefit from a rigorous course of study.

Robert Shireman, Center for Studies in Higher Education, 2004

Source: Shireman, R. (2004). “RIGOROUS COURSES” AND STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT IN HIGH SCHOOL: AN OPTIONS PAPER FOR THE GOVERNOR OF CALIFORNIA .

Why MassCore?

“The academic intensity of the student's high school curriculum still counts more than anything else in precollegiate history in providing momentum toward completing a bachelor's degree.”

Cliff Adelman, The Toolbox Revisited

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Why MassCore? Education Pays:

Why MassCore?

2007 2008 2009 2010 2011# in Public College 22285 22406 24479 23594 23261# in Developmental Courses 7799 8348 9082 8572 8457%in Developmental Courses 35.0% 37.3% 37.1% 36.3% 36.4%

A large percentage of students enrolling in public higher education enroll in remedial/developmental

college coursework

and 63% of students attending Massachusetts Community Colleges took at

least one developmental education class

Why MassCore? Massachusetts public 4 Year Colleges and Universities are increasing their

minimum admission standards to reflect a more rigorous course of study

Looking at MassCore Data

Where Do We Stand in MassCore CompletionCompletion is fairly stagnant

  2009 2010 2011 2012 2013

Total Graduates 65,897 65,058 64,725 65,159 66,359

# Completed 47,679 45,386 44,752 44,571 46,601

% Completed 72% 70% 69% 68% 70%

Where Do We Stand in MassCore Completion

for school year 2013 Graduates

Asian68.5%

African American/Black50.5%

Hispanic/Latino55.5%

White75.3%

Low Income 56.8%

Students with Disabilities 60.5%

LEP39.9%

• Selected Subgroups Statewide

• Overall: 70.2%

Just to complicate things

MassCore Completion is Based on the Number of Students who actually

graduate.

It is not based on the cohort that enters ninth grade together in the

district.This means that a very

small number of students at some of our

schools that enter 9th grade end up

graduating and academically prepared for college and career

Increasing the Numbers of Students Completing MassCore

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Ninth Grade is Critical!Over 20% of 9th graders fail at least one course

• Massachusetts Department of Elementary & Secondary Education

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Grade 9 Courses Completed and Not Passed

• Massachusetts Department of Elementary & Secondary Education

Status of All Courses # of Students % of StudentsNo Courses Completed 304 0.4%Completed and Passed 55,302 76.6%Completed and Not Passed 16,599 23%Total 72,205 100%

“# of Completed Courses Not Passed

Percent of Students Not Passing All Courses

N= 16,599

1 38.0%2 18.9%3 11.9%4 10.8%

5 or more 20.4%

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Grade 9 Course Results by Subgroup

• Massachusetts Department of Elementary & Secondary Education

Subgroup Total All Courses Passed Not All Courses Passed

# % # %White 48,918 39,985 81.7% 8,933 18.3%Black/ Afr. Amer. 6,423 4,091 63.7% 2,332 36.3%Asian 3,982 3,507 88.1% 475 11.9%Hispanic 11,062 6,385 57.7% 4,677 42.3%Multi Race, non Hispanic 1,578 1,163 73.7% 415 26.3%Low Income 26,257 16,040 61.1% 10,217 38.9%LEP 4,032 2,185 54.2% 1,847 45.8%Students with disabilities 11,679 7,358 63.0% 4,321 37.0%High Needs 32,366 20,733 64.1% 11,633 35.9%

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Grade 9 Courses Not Passed by Content Areas

• Massachusetts Department of Elementary & Secondary Education

Course Name Total Students Completing Course

# Not

Passed

% Not

PassedAlgebra I:Algebra I; Algebra I Part I; Algebra I Part II 39,914 5,274 13.2%

Geometry 17,572 403 2.3%Biology: Biology; Biology-Advanced Studies 36,554 2,582 7.1%

ELA: Gr. 9-12 ELA; GR. 9/10 English/ Literature 64,548 4,129 6.4%

Physics:Physics; Physics-Advanced Studies 10,398 1,217 11.7%

World History: World Hist. Overview; Modern World Hist.; World Hist. and Geography

36,536 2,162 5.9%

US History: US Hist.-Comprehensive; Early US Hist. 18,123 1,607 8.9%

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RisksGenerally…. Resources for staff to teach and to develop appropriate

coursework to meet MassCore requirements Students who are unprepared for a rigorous course of study

(pipeline and new arrivals) Lack of incentives for students to complete MassCore Collection of accurate data for decision makingCourse Specific… Appropriate math pathways for students (esp. year 4) Foreign/Modern Language The Arts Access to appropriate Science, Technology and Engineering

courses Maintenance of a course balance for all students, i.e. “my

students have too many/not enough <insert course here>” Meeting state law around the physical education requirement

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Critical Statewide Issues

Access-The creation of appropriate rigorous coursework and pedagogy for students to access a rigorous high school program of study

Opportunity-The preparation of students along a K-12 continuum to engage in a rigorous program of study.

Support-The support of tutoring, counseling and other college and career readiness activities to assist and engage students during a rigorous high school program of study

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Guiding Questions for further discussion

What are the biggest barriers to completing MassCore?

How are your district leaders helping you implement MassCore?

How do school counselors and others promote MassCore completion for students?

What are critical content areas and gaps in completing MassCore? What have been some of the solutions in this area?

Have the changes around the Mass. Curriculum Frameworks (particularly Common Core) been incorporated into work around MassCore?

Has your district addressed any issues of credit acceleration/recovery, competency based instruction and MassCore

Has there been any work with local institutions of higher education and workforce development in the completion of MassCore?

How can the Commonwealth as a whole encourage the completion of MassCore?